Anushree Mehta’s upcoming directorial ‘Mrs Undercover’ has been in the talks for quite a long time. The film, which stars Radhika Apte as the lead character, will be released soon on Zee5.
Anushree Mehta talks about how in today’s time women-led films are garnering the kind of eyeballs that their male counterparts get always. She talks about the change in this mindset in audiences and filmmakers. Also, she gives a sneak peek into ‘Mrs Undercover’ and what people can find interesting in it. To add to that, she finally reveals why people call Radhika Apte a one-take actor.
Excerpts from the chat:
Nowadays women-led films are getting more eyeballs from viewers. What do you think has led to this shift?
I'm happy that the audiences are being open to watching stories across genres about women. I think it’s a great shift and a great time for filmmakers who want to tell stories about women. I also think if we want to change the palette of our viewers or make them adapt to new palettes, we should serve them that with the essence of the palette that they like and are familiar with and if the shift is actually happening then the credit goes to our talented storytellers, writers, directors and producers and to everybody who is working behind the camera who have found the right way to do the same.
How was your shooting experience because you shot it during the pandemic?
I shot the film in between the first and second lockdowns entirely in Kolkata. It was extremely difficult to pull off an action spy comedy movie amidst so many restrictions but I have to tell you that amidst all of this, I had the best experience of my life not because it's my first film as a director but because I had very supportive actors like Radhika Apte, Sumeet Vyas, Rajesh Sharma, the lovely actors from Kolkata and the best producing partner anyone can ever have who is Mr Abir Sengupta who held everything and everyone together and made sure everything went as per plan.
Any anecdote from the sets that you can share that the viewers might find interesting?
One anecdote from the shoot that I would like to share is of a shooting day where I was supposed to shoot a full-blown action sequence in just a couple of hours. To make it clear - long action sequences take at least a couple of days to shoot but I had no time. I knew I had 3 people to work hand in hand with me to achieve that - my actor Radhika, my action director Ajay and my producer Abir. I cannot explain in words how meticulously all these 3 people led their own respective departments and finally my brilliant actor Radhika gave me a brilliant shot in the very first take. That’s when I realized why people call Radhika Apte a one-take actor.
